On the most rudimentary level the Pick 3 game is made up of 3 digits each pulled from 10 numbers marked 0 to 9.

Example: 135

There are 10 possible numbers for the First digit, 10 more for the Second digit and 10 more for the Third digit.

First Column Second Column Third Column

0 0 0

1 1 1

2 2 2

3 3 3

4 4 4

5 5 5

6 6 6

7 7 7

8 8 8

9 9 9

That’s 1000 possible Pick 3 lottery combinations (10 x 10 x 10 = 1000). Within these combinations there are three different ways to identify the different groups of numbers.

6 Way Number (Combo, Unique, Standard Number)

Three unique digits in each column, as in the example 135. It is called the 6-way because it can appear as 135, 153, 351, 315, 531, 513. This type of number can be played as:

Box (One bet covers all of the 6 possible ways the number can come up.) Straight (One bet covers an exact match for the one of the 6 possible combinations.)

The 6 way occurrence is 71%. Meaning in a perfect world you should see a 6 way number about every 7 out of 10 draws.

3 Way Number (A Double Number)

Two of the digits are the same and the third is different (Also known as a “Double Number”). An example would be 133. It is called the 3-way because it can appear as 133, 331, 313. This type of number and be played as:

Box One bet covers all of the 3 possible ways the number can come up Straight One bet covers an exact match for the one of the 3 possible combinations.

The 3 way occurrence is 27%. Meaning in a perfect world you should see a 3 way number about every 2 in 10 Draws.

1 Way Number ( A Triple Number)

All three of the digits are the same . An example would be 333. Obviously this only plays Straight.

The Triple occurrence is 1.37%. Meaning in a perfect world you should see a 3 way number 1 in 100 Draws.

Anatomy of a Pick 3 Lottery Number

Each Pick3 number has a unique identity, below are the main ways to categorize or label a Pick3 number.

High Low and Even Odd

Odd (O) / Even (E) Numbers

Odd Numbers - 1, 3, 5, 7, 9

Even Numbers - 0, 2, 4, 6, 8

High (H) / Low (L) Numbers

Low Numbers - 0, 1, 2, 3, 4

High Numbers - 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

HE HO LE LO Numbers

HE Numbers are (HighEven) - 6, 8

HO Numbers are (HighOdd) - 5, 7, 9

LE Numbers are (LowEven) - 0, 2, 4

LO Numbers are ( LowOdd) - 1, 3

Pick 3 Sums

To get the Sum of a number, you multiply the numbers by each o the digits in each of the columns. For example, if the number drawn was 358, you would add 3 + 5 = 8, then add that 8 + 8 in the third column giving a 16 Sum.

Pick 3 Base Sum

The Base Root is the last digit in the SUM of a number. If there is only one digit in the SUM then that number is the Base Root.

SUM = 8, then Base SUM = 8

SUM = 14, then Base SUM = 4

SUM = 22, then Base SUM = 2

Pick 3 Root Sums

To find the ROOT SUM of a number continue to add the SUM of the number until a single digit is returned. That single digit is the ROOT SUM of that number.

Example - 224 The SUM is 2+2+4=8 SUM, since 8 is a single digit, 8 is also the ROOT SUM.

If you are not used to it, looking at the numbers in this way will take a little getting used to. But try to do it, it will help. Several of the systems refer to these principals so trying to get a grip on them now will definitely give you an advantage…YOUR EDGE!

Pick 3 Lottery Math

OK, so I’m assuming that you know how to do basic grammatical math. However, for those that may not know about “Lottery” math, here is the general description.

Pick 3 Math (Lottery) - Most Pick 3 systems (at least all of the ones in this site) only require rudimentary mathematics (Addition and Subtraction). The Basic rule when adding or subtracting numbers using lottery math is to not carry over or borrow from.

Example 4+8 = 2 NOT 12

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

4 + 8 = 12 (Don’t carry the 1)

Below are all of the addition and subtraction tables for using Pick 3 lottery math. Just so there is no confusion.